Native American Legends

A Bet Between The Cóoyoko And The Fox

A Hopi Legend

Alíksai! In Shupaúlavi, north of the village, is
a bluff where there is a place called Cóoyoko House (Cóoyok-ki).
Here the Cóoyoko lived. One time a Fox, who was very handsome,
came along, and the Cóoyoko Uncle (Táhaam) was sitting
on the edge of the bluff when the Fox came along. The sun had not
yet risen, and the Cóoyoko was sitting and waiting to watch
the sunrise. "Come here," he said to the Fox, "come
to me here." "All right," the Fox said. and came.
"Sit down, sit down with me," the Cóoyoko said,
which the Fox did. ''Now," the Cóoyoko continued, "let
us have a contest and see upon whose song the sun will rise. The
one that loses shall be killed with this knife here," which
the Cóoyoko had, the Fox said. "Yes," the Cóoyoko
said, "let us have a contest." "All right,"
the Fox said, "be it so. You sing first." So the Cóoyoko
sang the following little song:

To -- ishkakolitai to - ishkakolitai
Aaaha, iiihi--
and then said to the Fox: "Now, you sing, too," whereupon
the Fox sang the following song:
Ishka! Ishka!

Hereupon the Cóoyoko repeated his song. The sun by this
time was just about to loom up. "Now you sing again,"
he said to the Fox, whereupon the latter repeated his song, and
when he was singing, the sun loomed upon the horizon. So he had
won the contest. "Alas!" the Cóoyoko said, "well
now, I have wanted it this way and you have beaten me. Be it so
then." The knife was lying by their side, so the Fox took it,
approached the Cóoyoko, and cut the latter's throat. And
so the latter died over a bet.